Frequently Asked Questions About Financial Planning

Is there any way to eliminate the federal and state penalty for withdrawing from your IRA prior to age 59 ½ ? 

Many employees are terminated from employment and need this emergency cash flow. The answer is yes! The IRS makes this possible under Section 72-T. It is called “substantially equal periodic payments”. You agree to take regular payments of the exact same amount for at least 5 years or until age 59 ½, whichever is longer. While you pay tax on the IRA withdrawal, the withdrawal penalties are waived. 

Is a shorter term bond safer than a long term bond? 

Yes. With an 8% coupon, if interest rates fall by one percentage point, the 5 year bond loses 4% in market value. However, the 20 year bond loses 9.2%. With a fall of two percentage points in interest rates, the 5 year bond falls 7.7% while the 20 year bond drops 17.2% in market value. 

Are the purchase of Class “B” mutual fund shares ever appropriate for an investor? 

No, never! Class “B” mutual funds are often marketed with the feature of “no load” to the investor. What is not disclosed is that the Mutual Fund company advances the commission to the stockbroker and is paid back by DOUBLING the annual management fee in Class “B” mutual funds compared to Class “A” funds. Then the investor is prevented from circumventing this higher annual charge by an ongoing back-end load with the product. Liquidity is decimated with a 5 to 6 year declining surrender charge with Class “B” shares. Depending upon the time horizon of the investor, Class “A” or Class “C” shares are always superior to Class ”B” shares. 

Are Junk Bonds ever appropriate for an investor? 

After all, they were up over 28% for 2003. Perhaps, but consider “Junk” not “Trash”! Trash bonds are those that have been downgraded by Standard & Poors and Moody’s below investment grade status due to credit problems. Junk bonds also include non-rated bonds whereby the issuing company prefers to pay the investor an extra ¼ to ½ point per year rather than secure a rating at a cost of between $400,000 and $500,000 from the above-named agencies. Literally, Sears & Roebuck, Dr. Pepper and 7-Up Bottling Co. have issued un-rated bonds in the past and offer a good bang-for-the-buck to the investor. Having said this, limit “junk” bond purchases to no more than 15% of your investment portfolio. 

Is there any stock market index that mirrors the entire stock market? 

No, not entirely. However, the Wilshire 5000 Index includes 99% of the stock market and is widely accepted as the most inclusive stock market index. Then, the Russell 3000 includes approximately 98% of the U.S. equity market. 

Recommended Financial Planning Websites

Principal Financial Group - The Principal Financial Group is a nationally known provider of 401k plans, mutual funds, retirement plans, investments, life insurance, health insurance, and on-line banking. Online customer service, education.
 
BenefitsLink - BenefitsLink.com is for people and companies involved in providing employer-sponsored employee benefit plans, including for-profit, non-profit and governmental plan sponsors, whether or not regulated by ERISA.

Reviewed Financial Planning Sites on the Internet

Brentmark Software  - www.brentmark.com/
Brentmark Software develops software for estate, retirement and financial planning professionals. Products include Pension & Roth IRA Analyzer, RetireNow, Estate Planning Tools, Estate Planning QuickView, PFP Notebook, Stock Options Risk Analyzer, College Planning Tools, Investment Scenario Generator, Charitable Financial Planner, IRS Factors Calculator, Savings Bond Toolkit, Pension Distributions Planner, Pension Distributions Calculator and Minimum Distributions Calculator.

Clarity Software, LLC - www.pendcalc.com/
PenD'Calc is Retirement, Distribution & Estate Planning Software. Since 1987 PenD'Calc R&EP™ Software has been performing retirement accumulation, pension distribution and estate planning calculations for advanced planners. (R&EP™ stands for Retirement and Estate Planning.) PenD'Calc Software is a scalable integrated retirement distribution and estate planning software system which focuses on modeling the singular and/or combined impact of various planning options unique to qualified dollar assets on retirement income, estate taxes, and beneficiary income streams.